Per Se Restaurant Review

: We wish everyone could dine by the hand of Thomas Keller, who continues to set the bar on both coasts. Per Se resides on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center, and the recognizable French Laundry blue doors welcome here too, though these are a front for fast moving glass panes that slide open instead. This entrance, updated to further recall the culinary garden of The French Laundry, proves just as unforgettable; a reminder that while Per Se embodies the same principles of excellence as its Yountville sibling, anticipate a different transformational experience. Two nine-course menus are on tap: a chef's tasting menu and a tasting of vegetables menu. On each, Keller balances perfectionism and whimsy while dazzling taste buds. The $310 price of admission also nets you waitstaff who move with the grace of ballerinas, and, at the same time, articulate Keller's vision --- carefully seen-to details like sea salt presented with select courses, and custom-made china. But the gorgeous flavor combinations, like Atlantic halibut, “Pommes Duchesse,” pickled Persian cucumbers, cipollini onions and smoked Meyer lemon emulsion, steal the show. The 2,100-bottle wine list does its part to astound as well, a true connoisseur's collection with plenty of affordable choices and a welcome selection of 200 half bottles. Give yourself over to sommelier Michel Couvreux, and you'll thrill to the series that follows. The “Assortment of Desserts” comprising fruit, ice cream, chocolate and “candies” is just the beginning of the seemingly nonstop procession. It is followed by mignardises, more chocolates, a treat packed to-go and the lingering memories of what portends to be one of the world's finest dining experiences. A five-, seven- and nine-course lunch menu ($205, $245, $310); and an à la carte menu and five-course dessert tasting menu in the Salon add to the possibilities.